Spider-Man is undoubtedly one of the most popular superheroes of all time. And yet, Peter Parker’s adventures in the Marvel Cinematic Universe have always been chock full of A-list characters rounding out his supporting cast. The Hulk and the Punisher carried the torch from Iron Man, Nick Fury and Doctor Strange in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, but they weren’t the only fan-favorites to show up in this entry. Marvel announced in 2025 that Stranger Things star Sadie Sink had joined the cast, only to keep her role under wraps up through the film’s release on July 31.
Here is a spoiler-filled breakdown of how Sadie Sink fits into Spider-Man: Brand New Day, including which key comics character she portrays:
(Warning: Spoilers for Spider-Man: Brand New Day and the rest of the MCU ahead.)
Who does Sadie Sink play in Spider-Man: Brand New Day?
As had been rumored for the past few months, Sadie Sink does indeed portray Jean Grey in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. The founding member of the X-Men doesn’t appear on-screen until midway through the movie, after she introduced herself to Spider-Man in various sequences of her hopping into other people’s minds.
In the film, Jean is on the run from Damage Control, the same organization that abducted her sister, Sara Grey. Sara has the same power set as Jean, which is a departure from her traditional role in the comics, where she doesn’t have any powers. Spider-Man eventually helps Damage Control capture Jean before he realizes her intentions, only changing allegiances when he realizes that Jean was only looking for her missing sister. Bill Metzger and Damage Control run experiments on Jean, accidentally boosting her telekenetic strength as she realizes that her sister died during the same procedure. Jean freezes a massive portion of New Yorkers and nearly kills Metzger, before Spider-Man convinces her that violence won’t bring her sister back.
At the end of the film, Spider-Man takes a bullet for Jean, who hops into his mind to keep him alive. She gives him back the reins once he has recovered, then takes a bus out of the city.
Check out our deep dive into the Spider-Man: Brand New Day post-credit scene here!
Spider-Man: Brand New Day X-Men Connections
Despite Jean serving as the film’s most prevalent antagonist, there is never any direct mention of mutants or the X-Men themselves in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. We don’t get any new information about what mutants are, where they came from or how they got to Earth-616. That information will probably come after Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, which are set to feature the original live-action versions of the X-Men from the 2000s films. Marvel Studios is developing an X-Men movie directed by Jake Schreier and Michael Lesslie, which could come out as soon as 2028. Although there are no concrete details on how that will fit into the MCU, it’s safe to say that Sink will be back as Jean as the next saga gets underway.
The MCU has been teasing the arrival of mutants for years, to say nothing of the Inhumans’ TV show and those characters’ various arcs on Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in the days before the FOX merger. Since Marvel Studios has taken over the rights to the X-Men, they have dropped several breadcrumbs about how they could fit in moving forward. A variant of Patrick Stewart’s Charles Xavier showed up on Earth-838 in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness back in May 2022. Later that summer, Ms. Marvel was revealed to have mutated DNA in the finale of her miniseries on Disney+. Deadpool and Wolverine was perhaps the most clear crossover, starring multiple famous mutants from various universes, but we got far more TVA than we got Earth-616 in that movie.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day Cast
In the five years since Spider-Man: No Way Home hit theaters, the web-head’s supporting cast went through a bit of a shakeup. In-universe, the justification is that four years have gone by, rendering most of his high school classmates and teachers irrelevant. No one remembers who Peter Parker is, either, giving him a chance to start fresh. That being said, there are still some familiar faces who play major roles in the film. Here is a quick summary of the Spider-Man: Brand New Day cast:
- Tom Holland as Peter Parker / Spider-Man
- Zendaya as Michelle “MJ” Jones-Watson
- Sadie Sink as Jean Grey
- Jacob Batalon as Ned Leeds
- Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle / Punisher
- Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova / Black Widow
- Tramell Tillman as Bill Metzger
- Marisa Tomei as May Parker
- Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner / Hulk
- Michael Mando as Mac Gargan / Scorpion
- Liza Colón-Zayas as Detective Jean DeWolff
- Marvin Jones III as Lonnie Lincoln / Tombstone
- Olivia Booth-Ford as Sara Grey
- Naomi Watts as E.V.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day FAQ
Who does Sadie Sink play in Spider-Man: Brand New Day?
Sadie Sink (Stranger Things, Fear Street) portrays Jean Grey in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, confirming a months-old rumor that she would be playing the telekinetic member of the X-Men in the MCU.
Is Jean Grey in Spider-Man: Brand New Day?
Yes, Jean Grey is in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. She is positioned as the film’s villain, until Peter Parker realizes that Damage Control is keeping him in the dark.
Are the X-Men in the Marvel Cinematic Universe?
The X-Men’s role in the MCU remains kind of muddy, even after Jean Grey’s debut in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. We don’t know which other mutants are on Earth-616, or if Jean will meet them through multiversal shenanigans in the upcoming Avengers movies.
